the most important thing
by ipsa dixit
Summary: a collection of five drabbles, all for amber's valentine drabble collection competition. neville/seamus, draco/astoria, teddy/victore, benjy/remus, narcissa/petunia
1. why do fools fall in love

_for amber's valentine's challenge, pairing neville/seamus, prompt 'final'. a collection, on my profile. just for you, love_

 _for the insane house challenge [word - love]_

 _218, by google docs_

* * *

The short story of Neville and Seamus was killing Seamus, slowly. He couldn't figure out why, though. He had been in love with other people in his life before. He'd been _hurt_ by those people before. He'd gotten over them.

So why was Seamus so fixated on the one, single kiss that he shared with Neville?

Maybe it frustrated him, inside, that he had been rejected. Because, yes, even though he'd never admit it to anyone, Neville was the one that immediately rejected Seamus, marking their first kiss as their final one. In the past, Seamus was the stronger one. If anyone did any rejecting, it was always Seamus. Nobody _rejected_ Seamus Finnigan.

If you asked Seamus _why_ he kissed Neville, he would have no answer. Maybe it was because he felt _desperate_ ; the war was such a big thing, more and more deaths happening every day. Maybe he felt like if he didn't get that one kiss _right then_ , he wouldn't have another chance to.

Maybe he thought they would be the perfect power couple: the two Gryffindor leaders of the student's resistance.

He had no idea _what_ he was thinking, or _why_ Seamus even kissed Neville, but the unfortunate fact, at least for Seamus himself, was that he _did_ and now he couldn't get over him.


	2. woman in love (guilty)

_for the leaky cauldron's secret santa, fukuiraptor, draco/astoria, lovestruck_

 _pairing - astoria/draco; prompt - passionate_

 _for the insane house comp [pairing - draco/astoria]_

 _417, by google docs_

* * *

Astoria knew that Draco wouldn't want her to watch him paint but she couldn't help it; she loved watching him work. The way he would softly put the brush on his canvas. The way he would get a little smile on his face whenever he got his drawing to work the way he wanted it to. The way he would bite his tongue, letting it peek out of his mouth, raising one eyebrow high as he evaluated his work. He looked more passionate painting than doing anything else, and Astoria just liked to see her boyfriend look _happy_.

He'd already voice displeasure at anyone looking at his art. It was a coping mechanism, he claimed. Just something to make him focus on things that _weren't_ the war. He would tell her, whenever she asked to see his works, that he wasn't good at painting at all. It was a blatant lie, though, Astoria knew. She always was able to catch him painting; he would become so enthralled in his art that he didn't notice anything around him. It had become her guilty pleasure, watching him paint every day, for just one simple hour.

And then she got caught.

"Draco," she said, softly, when he turned and realised, for the first time that she had been watching him. She had dated him for long enough to recognize his body language—he was closing up, internally.

"'Storia," he whispered.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just love the way you look so happy when you paint and—"

"It's okay," he said, surprising her. She expected him to be more upset at her. "I actually wanted you to see this piece I'm working on, anyway."

Taking her hand, Draco led her into his art studio, which, Astoria noted in the back of her mind, was an utter mess. Leading her to his easel, he dropped her hand to gesture to his canvas, where a girl was staring back at her, her hair the same as Astoria's brown waves, her eyes the same as Astoria's blue ones, her face the same pointed shape as Astoria's, and her smile the same smirk as Astoria's.

"You like it?" Draco asked, a quiver of uncertainty in his voice. She knew that he had never shown anybody his paintings before, and for her to _be_ the first painting he showed someone else.

"I love it," she said, putting her hand on the back of his head and pulling him down so that she could kiss him. "I love _you_."


	3. i cross my heart

_teddy/victore - rushed_

 _writing club - character appreciation - protecting a child_

 _writing club - showtime - for forever_

 _insane house comp - character - teddy lupin_

 _402, by google docs_

* * *

"Don't you think your relationship is a little bit rushed?"

Not a lot of things scared Teddy Lupin in his life. As a little kid, he realised pretty early on that he had no parents to protect him from the monsters under his bed. Sure, he had his grandmother, but everyone knew that monsters were only properly scared of _real_ parents, so Teddy trained himself to be stronger than his monsters and he became stronger than his fears. He still had _some_ fears, though, like his loved ones dying, or not being able to save someone at St Mungo's.

His girlfriend's dad, Bill Weasley? He was _definitely_ on that list.

"I mean, you only started dating a couple of years ago and she's only just out of Hogwarts. Why should I let you marry her?"

He knew, right from when his grandmother suggested it, that it was a terrible idea to ask for Victore's father's blessing for their marriage, but his grandmother insisted, saying that they would appreciate the gesture. Their appreciation didn't do much for Teddy, though, who considered his potential father's question.

Why _should_ he let Teddy marry Victore?

"I love her, Mister Weasley," Teddy stammered, cringing at how shaky his voice sounded. "I love her more than anything."

Bill nodded, his earring swinging. Teddy would have laughed if he wasn't so nervous; he was all dressed up in a suit, and then there was Bill, in a tee shirt and jeans, with his fang earring in.

"So do I." His mouth was clenched and Teddy wasn't sure if that was good or bad. It was probably bad. "Where are you planning to _live_ with my daughter? I'm under the assumption that your apartment is quite… small."

"Er." If he was being honest, he hadn't thought about _after_ the wedding, yet, just that they would get married. "I mean, anywhere that she wants to go I'll be happy with. With her, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Bill studied Teddy's face for a moment, so intently that he could almost feel Bill's eyes boring into him. Slowly, ever so slowly, his face relaxed.

"I give you my blessing, sure," Bill said, leaning back.

Teddy jumped up, pumping his fist in the air, before quickly realising who he was in front of. "I mean, yes, thank you, Mr. Weasley."

Bill chuckled, a grin appearing on his face. "Please, call me Bill."


	4. our bones are etched with unsaid words

_remus/benjy - 'a little warning next time'_

 _for pairing the character [remus/benjy]_

 _for the houses comp, drabble section ["nothing can be that important"]_

 _for bathbombs [crazy stupid love], writing club [showtime - finale; character appreciation - unrequited love; buttons - repeat; book club - orc], the insane house challenge [character - remus lupin]_

 _for the title exchange, january [our bones are etched with unsaid words]_

 _thank you to ck and krissy for betaing!_

 _500 words, by google docs_

* * *

"A little warning next time," Remus says, turning as Benjy apparates right behind him. Remus can't help but notice the way that Benjy's hair falls onto his forehead.

"Aw, sorry, babe." Benjy swipes a hand through his hair, fixing it, and leans forward as if about to give him a kiss, but then leans back, giving Remus a grimace. "Right," he says as Remus looks down. "Not doing that anymore."

"That's enough, Benj. Stop," Remus replies. Benjy's tone is filled with sadness, and Remus knows what he's doing.

"What?" he asks innocently.

"Stop trying to guilt me into dating you," Remus says, almost forcing the words out. "I've told you, I _can't_. It's too…"

"What?" Remus hates seeing Benjy so pained, but there's too many reasons why the two of them wouldn't work out. When Remus doesn't respond, Benjy sighs. "Nothing can be that important you can't tell me. You're being stupid. You have been for the past _five years_."

"Benjy," Remus whispers. "One day, I swear, I'll explain—"

"—just not today. Yeah, you've repeated yourself quite enough."

The expression on Benjy's face hurt Remus, it really did, but between him being a werewolf and most of society not accepting gay couples...

"Whatever," Benjy says, shaking his head. "I'm going on a mission tomorrow, by myself," he mentions, offhandedly, running a hand through his hair again. Remus hates when he does that.

"What type of mission?" he asks, slightly nervous about it; more Order members are dying from missions, the war getting more dangerous. Remus is already worried enough; Sirius is reckless and James and Lily are the subjects of a death-threatening prophecy. He knows that Benjy's a perfectly capable wizard, but he can't help being scared.

"Just a raid on someone's house. I'll be fine."

Their eyes meet once more, Remus trying to figure out what Benjy's thinking.

"Hey, check in with me after you finish, okay?" Remus offers, extending the olive branch. Benjy's face softens as he nods, looking pleased.

"See you tomorrow, then."

Benjy looks like he wants to give Remus more than just a verbal goodbye, but doesn't, disapparating away.

* * *

Remus is done hiding it. The war goes on, and more people die. He needs to come clean. He decides that when Benjy finishes his mission and comes to Remus' flat, he's going to give in to him.

Except, Benjy should've been _done_ already.

Remus can't take it anymore, as the clock nears midnight, so he apparates to the Order's headquarters. Marlene and Sirius are there, pouring over documents.

"Do you know what happened with Benjy's mission?" Remus asks them, making his presence known. Sirius and Marlene share a glance that makes Remus' stomach hurt.

Sirius makes eye contact with him and, without speaking, confirms what Remus is scared of.

"No," Remus gasps, feeling bile coming up his throat.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Marlene says, standing up and wrapping her arms around him. "I know that you guys were good friends…"

"Yeah," he says hoarsely. " _Friends_."


End file.
